Regional Wholesale Price Relationships in the Presence of Counter-Seasonal Imports

Counter-seasonal imports of fresh produce facilitate year-round availability in the U.S. and may impact the seasonal structure of market price relationships. Vector autoregression analysis is used to determine the nature and extent of spatial price relationships among four geographically distinct regions in the U.S. fresh peach wholesale market. We evaluate differences in regional spatial price relationships and find statistical evidence that price relationships among regions are different in periods dominated by regional domestic supplies imports compared with periods when counter-seasonal imports dominate the market.